Flexible working makes for more productive employees

A recent survey of over 2,600 employees by FlexJobs found that 76% think the office is not their most productive work environment. 50% of the survey respondents would choose to work from home to be most productive or on important projects. The top five reasons why flexible working was deemed more productive were:

• Fewer interruptions from colleagues (76%)
• Fewer distractions (74%)
• Minimal office politics (71%)
• Reduced stress from commuting (68%)
• More comfortable office environment (65%)

Another 12% of survey respondents preferred to work from a coffee shop sooner than doing important work from the office. 14% would choose the office, but outside their usual working hours. Less than a quarter thought that they could maximise their productivity at the office during office hours.

Flexible working vs. other benefits

Flexible working is high on many employees’ wish list. 30% of respondents said they would take a 10-20% cut in pay to be able to work from home. Just under a quarter said they’d give up some of their holidays for home working. 18% rank flexibility higher than employer-matched pension contributions.

Work-life balance tops the list

The top 4 reasons given for wanting to work flexibly were:

• Work-life balance (81%)
• Family (56%)
• Time savings (56%)
• Commute stress (48%)

Followed close behind by 32% who thought flexible working would be good for their health.

Employees feel that flexible working is good for them

Almost a third of respondents said that the reason they would like flexible working was to do with their health. 97% thought that it would have a positive impact on their overall quality of life, 80% believed it would improve their health and 87% see it as a way to reduce stress.

To see your absence levels plummet, we suggest implementing Engage just before launching your flexible working initiative. It’s a great way to measure the results!